Comments on: Tonight’s STUDIO 60: Best Episode Yet

By: Kayleigh

Kayleigh — Tue, 05 Dec 2006 09:18:40 +0000

The music was amazing. I would love to be able to find a copy of it somewhere. Does anyone know?
I think Sorkin is amazing and I love the show, as I loved Sports Night and The West Wing.

By: Todd W in NC

Todd W in NC — Tue, 05 Dec 2006 06:21:37 +0000

TVAddict, I’m sorry to say, but despite your guarantee, I was, in fact, disappointed. I have to agree with Janice that it was uneven. Like so many previous episodes, it was a mixed bag of good stuff and bad stuff.

What Was Good:
– The Danny & Jordan interaction at the beginning
– Danny’s admission of love that seemed premature but well delivered
– Jordan eating everything in sight
– Matt pulling Harriet aside to kiss her
– The New Orleans musicians

What Was Bad:
– The constant nitpicking over the calendar system, the timing of Jesus’s birth, and whether the star of Bethlehem was a star or a comet (I wasn’t offended by it at all, but the obsession with it just felt like beating a dead horse)
– How everyone acts like Christmas is some kind of alien festival that no one knows how to celebrate or write sketches about just because they’re in California
– The fact that the only one person has Christmas spirit even though he’s Jewish
– Cal’s obsession with the coconuts and the cracking of the table in half
– So much going on in one episode that the FCC violation subplot feels under-developed
– The scene where Simon & Harriet are practicing a couple jokes on their News 60 cue cards; both jokes are way too long and not funny at all

Sorry, maybe all the hype about this episode made me expect too much out of it. Also, after the excellent Heroes episode that came before it, maybe I was bound to be disappointed by Studio 60 in comparison.

So far, I think the best material of this season was the “West Coast Feed” episode and the last five minutes of part two of the Parump, Nevada, two-parter (just those five minutes alone had two laugh-out-load moments). The Christmas episode would rank somewhere in the middle for me.

By: Cristy

Cristy — Tue, 05 Dec 2006 04:49:43 +0000

Janice 1997, here is where I disagreee. Ever seen an episode of Sports Night of The West Wing? This is what Sorkin does, just like Amy Palladino did, – overkill. Combining massive amounts of witty dialogue and great stories into not-that-long-episodes. I love the way he alternates record amounts of plot!

By: Bridget

Bridget — Tue, 05 Dec 2006 04:15:45 +0000

Awesome episode! The to catch a predator sketch was hillarious!!! I also like that they arent gonna drag out Danny and Jordan like they do with Harriet and Matt. I think this show continues to improve each week. I hope it gets a chance for a 2nd season;) I i enjoyed Matt tonight he seemed mroe lighthearted and less cynical. Heres hoping the quality continues to increase!

By: Janice 1997

Janice 1997 — Mon, 04 Dec 2006 18:20:19 +0000

*spoiler alert* While I no doubt will be severely chastised by our fearless blog leader thetvaddict himself, I must respectfully disagree with his assessment of last night’s episode, which I found uneven. Let me start with what I liked: the music theme, fabulous and timely. I also agree with Cristy that the discussion regarding Jesus and Christmas was amazing. I also thought Jack was endearing. My problem was that I felt throughout the episode that they were trying to neatly sum up all the personal problems each individual had in one cute Christmas themed episode. The Matt and Danny storylines, combined with ALL the others, made for too much at one time. I found it a bit patronizing, frankly. And also Timothy Busfield is far too talented to have an entire show centered around the acquisition of coconuts.

By: tcgc

tcgc — Mon, 04 Dec 2006 16:39:33 +0000

I am fine with it as well. I guess that episode on on-air company promotions stated sorkin’s opinion. I didn’t watch The West Wing, was their cross promotion on that show? It is probably the format of Studio 60 that allows for more of it. I can’t stand Howie Mandell anyways. All those new game shows are annoying! lol.

By: thetvaddict

thetvaddict — Mon, 04 Dec 2006 16:22:41 +0000

NBC definitely doesn’t frown on cross-promotion! 30 ROCK is essentially a giant infomercial for NBC. While I’m sure it’s not mandated, constant cross-promotion is no doubt subtly encouraged by the network brass. Remember who hosted last week’s STUDIO 60…. DEAL OR NO DEAL’s Howie Mandell… coincidence, I think not….

and if it keeps STUDIO 60 and 30 ROCK on the air longer, this TV addict is fine with it!

By: tcgc

tcgc — Mon, 04 Dec 2006 16:05:59 +0000

Great episode, but why do they insist on promoting other nbc shows? It seems out of Sorkin’s vision to do that…or perhaps just like the show, the board of directors for Universal is mandating this. Any thoughts?

By: Paul

Paul — Mon, 04 Dec 2006 15:54:29 +0000

fantastic episode!

By: thetvaddict

thetvaddict — Mon, 04 Dec 2006 15:46:06 +0000

Common Sense – make sure to post tomorrow and let me know how much you loved the episode.